Milking a Nubian, Looking for advice and comments!

[Simple Living]

Talking to a friend the other day about getting a goat to milk for everyday household use and maybe some cheese and butter type projects. He tells me that he and his wife are thining down their herd and wanted to know if I would want one of his(the price was right! $0). We thought about it,(wife and I) and said sure,what do we have to loose! Well as of yesterday we have a 2yr old first time milker and a young wether to keep her company till she settles in. Then I believe that he will become a few good meals.

Everything seems to be going well I guess. She was real skiddish the first 24hrs but now seems to be getting better. She didnt drink much water at first but took in 2-3 gallons today. My question is more about her production. What should I expect to see out of her once she settles in and I get her feed program a bit more geared to production instead of just “good enough for a goat” type feeding. When at the other farm she had an output of about 2.5-3lbs morning and night for a total of 5-6lbs a day. I figure that to be just shy of or maybe 3qt/day. I on the other hand, have only milked about a quart in each of my first 3 milkings.

Will this increase over time as her feed gets better, and my milking skills get better? I am feeding free choice alfalfa/grass (80-20) and about 3-4cups of purina goat chow (16%protine) at each milking. the milking stand I have is my Father-in-laws that he used for 15yrs as my wife was growing up. I am thinking of making it a bit taller as the deck is only 10inches off the floor. It gets hard on these ol’ bones to sit on a 5gal bucket to milk her 2x a day :o:)

So, If anyone has any comments, questions, or general finger pointing, I would be happy to here from you. To me this is just one more step in getting away from the mainstream life and letting corperate America/world know that I still think they are #1 in my book! LOL

Signing off for now, wish us luck in our little endever!
Gordon

[Robert MoonShadow]

Gordon; Congratulations on joining the ‘goat crowd’! :p
I’ve found a lot of goat-knowledgable people at http://www.GoatTalk.com – many are very helpful & open with their experiences. Members range from pet owners of just 2 up to at least one certified organic commercial dairy that I know of. Meat goats, as well as most common barnyard animals have a place there, too. {Donkeys as pets, but not any draft animals… yet} 🙁
But be forewarned: these critters are highly addictive and if you find yourself suddenly the owner of a small herd of blue-eyed Nigerian Dwarfs, don’t blame me!! 😀

[sanhestar]

Hello,

there’s also a very knowledgeable mailing list on yahoo called “holistic goats”

On another topic: goats are very sociable herd animals. You should consider keeping the wether permanently – can become a good working animals for smaller tasks around your place. Keeping a goat alone is almost cruel, especially when she grew up in a herd.

As for milking: the amount of milk depends on food, water intake and stress. Do you feed the same she got at her old place (quantities, quality, brand resp. ingredients)? If not you may consider getting some food from their to make a slower change of her diet – especially regarding the concentrated food.

How far along is she in her milk production – meaning, when did she kid? Milk output will drop a bit after the first weeks after lambing

[Simple Living]

Robert, Thanks for the scare. I was nervous about getting 1, came home with 2. Now I’m wondering if the second should also be a nanny. I had a friend tell me yesterday the only thing dumber than a goat was its owner, we laughed. I will have to say that in 2 days she has already learned her way from pen to milking stand and how to get back, so maybe it is just her owner who needs help! 😉

sanhestar, I have thought about the herd thing as well, and was wondering if she would do fine hanging out with the horse “herd” of 5.

[Simple Living]

Robert, Thanks for the scare. I was nervous about getting 1, came home with 2. Now I’m wondering if the second should also be a nanny. I had a friend tell me yesterday the only thing dumber than a goat was its owner, we laughed. I will have to say that in 2 days she has already learned her way from pen to milking stand and how to get back, so maybe it is just her owner who needs help! 😉

sanhestar, I have thought about the herd thing as well, and was wondering if she would do fine hanging out with the horse “herd” of 5.

As for her feed yes we kept the grain and hay as close to the same as we could. Although I believe my hay has a lot better nutritional value. She seems to be drinking even better today, I would have to say milk level would increase as well. She had a set of twins in late Jan. or early Feb. so she is only a couple months into her milking cycle.

Thanks to you two for your help, I wasn’t sure where to start this thread and guessed this to be as good a place as any.

Gordon

[sanhestar]

Hello Gordon,

although it’s often recommended to keep goats with horses it’s not natural for either goat nor horse(s).

– horses can seriously hurt a goat: kicking, biting but also simply stepping on the goats feet (have experienced this myself in the first years of goat husbandry when goats and horses ran in the same shed. You may believe me that it’s no fun to have the blood squirt from the goats foot while still under the horses hoove)

– horses and goats have very different social behaviour and even when the goat will bond with the horses (from pure necessity) she will remain lonely. Also, there’s no need for the horses to bond with the goat – them being an intact herd.

If you’re already thinking about a second nanny, do it. Although I still recommend to keep the wether because it’s a more natural herd structure (females with one “almost” male). And then you should think about a forth (even numbers are better in small groups, less chance that one animal is singled out) – so you see, already on the way to goat addiction 🙂

As for her milking cycle: she’s three months into it and at that time milk production for lambs will decrease.

[becorson]

there is a discussion board for folks who keep a family cow that you might find useful. do a google search for “keeping a family cow”. there are folks on that board that keep goats, too.

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